


A Far-Off Memory

by TheAwkwardStar



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, Im a nerd, and spend too much time on tumblr, eh, inspired by chachacharlieco's art and drabbles, yup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-13 10:43:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13568922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAwkwardStar/pseuds/TheAwkwardStar
Summary: As Aqua presses on through the Realm of Darkness, she encounters a familiar face.....He isn't the same as she remembers.





	A Far-Off Memory

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chachacharlieco](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Chachacharlieco).



_How long has it been?_

Aqua stumbled across a rocky path. Nothing beyond her was visible, but all she could do was keep going.

_How long since I've seen my friends? Terra? Ven? Mickey?_

_....The light of day...?_

Aqua gritted her teeth as she fought back the tears forming in her eyes.

 _...I can't stop. And I won't cry._ Aqua forced a faint smile.

"... _He'd_ think I was silly for getting so emotional."

She suddenly felt something wet lapping against her feet. She looked down and saw water. Looking up, she saw the fabrication of a pale sunset.

"...So I'm here again." Aqua sat down in the water, bringing her knees up to her chin. She closed her eyes and felt a faint breeze.

Her eyes opened when she heard a loud noise. A loud, thunderous roar and something metallic scraping against the ground. She stood up quickly, eyes wide.

"...Someone else is here."

Without a second thought, Aqua ran towards the sound. She found the source of the roar. A massive heartless screeching as it flailed its arms around, attempting to shake something off of it. Aqua could make out a small figure on top of it, firing magic haphazardly on the creature's back. The weapon the figure was holding was very familiar.

" ...A keyblade?" 

Aqua charged forward, summoning her own keyblade as she went for the legs. She slashed them first, then used her magic to bind the creature. It let out an unearthly wail as it crashed onto the ground. The other wielder didn't hesitate as they went for the heartless' neck and sliced it off. It was a clean cut as the head and the rest of the body dissipated into smoke. Aqua took a moment to catch her breath. She stared at the mysterious figure who was wearing a black coat. The figure turned around and started to leave.

"Wait!"

The figure paused. They slowly turned their head.

"Please, wait....who are you?"

"...Unless...you're another illusion the darkness has made to mess with me."

The figure lowered their head.

"...Believe what you want. It makes no difference to me."

"At least tell me your name!" Aqua insisted.

"...I just...want to know if you're real...."

The figure seemed unsure of what to do. Eventually, they let out a long sigh and pulled down their hood.

Aqua gasped and instinctively raised her weapon at him. But she soon lowered it as recognition started to form in her expression.

"....Sora?"

She vaguely recalled seeing the boy a long time ago. He was so small before, with a bright, innocent gleam in his clear blue eyes. She remembered how happy he looked when they first met. She remembered hearing stories from another visitor about how he risked his life, fighting against the darkness. Backtracking Master Xehanort's plans at every turn, helping others without asking for anything in return, no matter how dangerous it was...

...She couldn't believe it was the same boy.

There was no trace of a smile on his face. He looked absolutely miserable. There were strands of white in his light brown hair, and those...golden eyes...

His expression was of someone who had witnessed and experienced countless horrors, to the point that he was now numb to it. Aqua couldn't help but stare at him with a pained look. He grimaced and turned away from her.

"....I get it. I'm not what you expected."

Aqua rubbed her arm, feeling nothing but guilt for looking at him that way.

"...I'm...sorry. I just haven't seen you in so long. Are you alright...?" Aqua reached out and cautiously placed her hand on his shoulder. To her surprise, he didn't pull away.

"...Fine. Just _peachy."_ there was a distinct bitterness in every syllable that came out of his mouth. Aqua pursed her lips.

"Why don't we sit down. Just so you can relax for a while."

Sora shrugged. Aqua took it as a sign that he was somewhat willing to listen. She headed back to the shoreline of the beach with Sora following closely behind. They sat down next to each other and watched the sunset in silence.

After some time had passed, Aqua decided to ask what had been on her mind since he appeared.

"...Sora, why are you here?"

The boy glanced at her with a dull expression.

"I should be asking you the same thing. I don't even know your name."

"That's right. I never did tell you." She smiled a little.

"...It's Aqua. Do you still remember when we first met? Back on your island?"

Sora lowered his head.

"Everything is kinda fuzzy in my head, ever since Xehanort almost won..." Sora clutched his chest.

Aqua had already pieced most of it together in her mind. Her heart ached for the poor boy, wishing that she could've done something to prevent him from hurting.

"...So, he got you too. Just like Terra..." She winced, placing her hand on her chest as well. She closed her eyes tightly. 

"You said that he 'almost' won. What stopped him from taking over your heart completely?"

"...That should be obvious. It was my friends, Riku and...Kairi..." Sora placed a hand on his head.

Aqua was surprised. One of Sora's friends was the young girl she met all those years ago...?

She pushed those thoughts aside. She would worry about that later.

"I would like to know what happened, but please don't push yourself. I can wait." Aqua smiled at him.

"...No. I might as well tell you. I need to get this off my chest." Sora stood up abruptly and walked a little further into the water. He took a deep breath and slowly spread out his arms, closing his eyes. Aqua got up and stood behind him with a worried expression.

"...This is what I did when I faced off against them, but it wasn't really 'me' doing it. It was like my body was on autopilot. The darkness in my heart was too powerful for me to take back control. All my friends could do was stare at me. Maybe they were disappointed, or just losing hope for me. And all I did was _laugh,_ even as I saw them starting to cry...." Sora closed his hands into fists as he brought his arms back down.

"....I said so many terrible things to them...things that I can never take back. I would constantly black out and whenever I came to, I saw how much more hurt they were because of me. So I did the only thing I could think of, to stop him from hurting them anymore...."

"...I managed to make him hesitate. Even if it was for just a split second, it was enough for me to see them win. I don't remember anything after that...."

"Sora, I'm so sorry...." Aqua reached out to him, then hesitated and looked down.

"...It's ok. At least I know they're safe, and at least I'm not all alone here..." Sora turned his head towards her and forced a grin.

Aqua smirked. "...I know the feeling."

The moment ended as the ground started to rumble. The water and the pale sunlight started to fade away.

"What now?!" Aqua scanned the area, struggling to keep her balance as the earth became more unstable.

"It's not safe here anymore! We need to-"

She was cut off as the ground cracked and crumbled apart beneath them. They both screamed as they fell, deep into nothingness. Aqua frantically reached out for Sora, who was getting harder to see by the minute. It seemed like he was trying to do the same. She didn't get the chance to know for sure as she felt the sudden impact of hitting a hard surface. The wind was knocked out of her lungs as an explosion of colors filled her vision, then faded into darkness.

\---------

Sora woke up, coughing and gasping for air. He groaned and forced himself to sit up. He struggled to take in his surroudings as the pain in his head ebbed away. All he could tell was that it was a dimly lit room and he could see his own reflection on the ground.

"....Aqua?" Sora stood up. He quickly realized that not only was the ground showing his reflection, but so were several sets of mirrors surrounding him. He looked up and saw nothing but darkness and his own reflection again. His eyes narrowed at the sight of their bright yellow color.

"What _is_ this place...?"

Sora approached one of the mirrors. He placed his hand on it and knocked. It was solid, and his reflection was as clear as ever.

...He was starting to hate that.

"...A room full of mirrors. And there's no exit that I can see..." He muttered to himself.

Sora pulled out his keyblade.

"...I guess I'll have to make one."

Sora raised his keyblade, preparing to strike the glass. Just as he swung down, Aqua's image appeared. He gasped loudly and stopped himself.

"Aqua?!?"

"Sora???" Aqua placed her hands on the glass. She banged her hands against it, but to no avail. Sora did the same with his keyblade, but the glass refused to break.

"Stand back!" Sora held his keyblade with both hands and aimed it towards the glass.

_"Fire!!!_

"Sora, wait!" Aqua exclaimed. She was too late as a massive ball of fire hurdled towards her. It vanished the second it touched the glass.

"...What??? How?!?" Sora glared at the mirror in disbelief.

"I tried to warn you. We can't escape this place until it shows us what it wants."

"...'What it wants'? What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Sora asked.

"Just promise me you'll stay strong, Sora." The image of Aqua started to fade.

"The darkness will try to trick you. It will show you things you don't want to...see..."

Aqua's eyes widened as her image became more distorted.

"Aqua!" Sora shouted. He noticed she was pointing at something.

_"...Behind you."_

The glass shattered. Sora covered his face with his arms as the shards flew towards him. He brought his arms back down at saw that the mirror was empty.

**_"...Finally. I thought she would never leave."_ **

Sora felt a chill run down his spine. He slowly spun his head around to look at the other mirrors behind him. There were four in total. The two in the middle simply showed his own reflection, while the two beside him each had hooded figures. He noted the Oathkeeper and Oblivion in their hands. Feeling uncomfortable, he went back to staring at his own reflection.

There was nothing remarkable about it at first. But he eventually started to pick up on the fact that one of the mirrors seemed... _off._ his yellow eyes seemed much brighter for some reason.

After a few seconds, Sora's reflection smiled back at him. He took a few steps backwards, clearly not expecting that to happen. His reflection suddenly managed to stick its hand outside of the mirror itself, reaching out towards him. It motioned for Sora to take its hand, which he was not planning on doing any time soon. The smile on the reflection faded.

**_"...Man, you've really lost your touch. Not even accepting a friendly handshake?"_ **

He grinned.

**_"...Xehanort must've really done a number on you. Kudos to him for taking that stupid smile off your face._ **

Sora frowned. _"Who are you?"_

Not-Sora chuckled. **_"Just another darkness-enthusiast, trapped in your mess of a heart like all the others. But I guess I never have properly introduced myself to you before."_**

The image in the mirror rippled for a moment, and Sora noticed that the appearance of his reflection began to change. His hair became pitch black, and his clothes became more reminiscent of what Riku wore when he was possessed by Ansem. The markings etched into the boy's chest forced a few unpleasant memories to resurface. Sora clutched his head with both hands and inhaled sharply. His vision blurred for a few moments as he heard a horrible ringing in his head.

 ** _"...Jeez, you're almost as pathetic as he was."_** the boy summoned his own keyblade, crackling with dark energy. Sora winced at the familiar eye on the blade.

_I'll always be watching, Sora. Don't bother trying to run away._

**_"And by the way, my name is Vanitas. You can applaud now."_** He waited for a response with a smug expression.

Sora said nothing. A few beads of sweat trickled down the side of his face as he gulped. Vanitas scowled.

**_"...Tough crowd. Not like it matters, though. I'm much stronger in this place than before, so I might as well make good use of my time."_ **

Before Sora could react, Vanitas stuck him with electricity. Sora shrieked, the pain reminding him of when Xehanort and his followers blighted him. He was in too much shock to fight back as Vanitas rammed his blade into Sora's abdomen. The force of the attack sent him reeling backwards. He fell to his hands and knees, clutching his chest as he started sweating profusely.

 ** _"Come ON, Sora! Fight back!"_** Vanitas stalked towards Sora, eyeing him like fresh meat ripe for the taking. He kicked Sora square in the chest.

 ** _"I want to see the hero everyone's been raving about as I watched from the sidelines! I want to see just how strong you've gotten under Xehanort's influence!"_** Vanitas sneered as he pointed his blade at Sora's face. The two hooded figures were now beside him, aiming their weapons as Sora as well. They each had eerie smiles spread across their faces and their eyes glowed with a haunting golden color.

**_"See? Your friends have got the right idea."_ **

Sora looked up at the hooded boy with a saddened expression.

"....Roxas...."

Sora's voice was barely above a whisper as he said it, but Roxas seemed to have heard it. His smile faltered for a second, but he made no indication of standing down. Sora lowered his head, squeezing his eyes shut.

_**"...So. You're not going to fight."** _

Sora was quiet.

 _ **"...What a disappointment. I expected more from you."**_ Vanitas raised his keyblade to strike.

_**"You're nothing but a failure."** _

Sora's eyes opened. He felt something deep within him finally _snap._

Just as Vanitas swung down, Sora blocked the attack with his keyblade. He pushed hard against Vanitas' blade as he stood back up. His hair was covering his eyes.

"What?!" Vanitas tried pushing back, but Sora's strength only seemed to grow. Sora's head rose up as he glared at Vanitas with fury in his eyes.

"I. Am not. A _failure."_

\-----------

Aqua smacked a phantom of hers that tried to land a hit. She had pilled up the shattered pieces of the broken mirror and was trying to fix it. No matter what it took, she was going to get Sora out of there. She couldn't bear the thought of losing another friend.

 _"You're wasting your time. You won't get to him."_ More phantoms of her blocked her path to the mirror.

_"...Just give up already. Embrace the darkness you've been resisting for so long."_

"Get out of my way!!!" Aqua shouted angrily. She slashed at the phantoms with her keyblade, making them disappear momentarily. She squeezed the handle of her weapon.

"...I can't keep going on like this. I need to get out of here." Aqua made her keyblade vanish, then picked up the shards and sprinted towards the mirror. One by one, she started to piece it slowly back together.

"Hold on for a just a bit longer, Sora. I'm coming."

\---------

Vanitas chuckled as the force of Sora's attack pushed him back a little.

_**"Now that's more like it! If all it took to make you fight was to get you a little upset, I would've done that first!"** _

Sora grunted as he struck repeatedly at Vanitas' keyblade. Vanitas blocked every blow with a smirk on his face, which only seemed to anger Sora more. Eventually, they were at a standoff as their keyblades were pushed against each other. Sparks flew as they each tried to gain the upper hand.

_**"Looks like we're practically equals. I'm impressed!"** _

Sora yelled in frustration. A massive ball of darkness formed in his hand, crackling with negative energy. He lodged it directly at Vanitas, who narrowly avoided it as he leaped out of the way.

_**"Hey, that's a neat trick! It was Xehanort who taught you that, right?** _

"SHUT UP!" Sora charged at Vanitas. He was suddenly blocked by the two hooded figures. They thrashed Sora unanimously with their blades, sending him flying backwards. Sora hit the ground with a loud _thud._

Vanitas cackled. _**"What a joke. Even they could tell that you're just being reckless with your power."**_ a puddle of darkness formed underneath his feet.

_**"...How about I show you how it's REALLY done?"** _

A massive suit of armor manifested behind Vanitas. It slowly approached Sora as it made a strange whirring sound.

_**"This one almost killed off those three idiots, but they only won because they worked together. Let's see how well you take it on your own."** _

Sora looked up with wide eyes as a bright light started to form inside the creature. It was going to disintegrate him if he didn't move, but he was frozen in place.

_No...not like this...!_

_....Riku....Kairi......I.........._

All of a sudden, the armor was pushed back by a blast of bizzard magic. Its arms and legs became frozen in place. Sora searched for the source of the attack until his eyes landed on Aqua. She was standing in front of the broken mirror, now covered in ice as it reflected her image. She glowered at him as she tightened her grip on her keyblade.

"Get away from him, _monster."_

Vanitas raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

 _ **"You just don't know when to quit, do you?"**_ Vanitas glanced at the two hooded figures.

_**"...Get rid of her."** _

Without any hesitation, the hooded figures ran towards Aqua. She steadied herself as she prepared to fight.

"Aqua!" Sora stood up quickly, then felt something sharp press against his neck. Vanitas glared at him.

_**"Don't even think about it. You still owe me a fight."** _

"...Fine."

Sora raised his weapon faster than Vanitas could, knocking his keyblade out of his hands. Vanitas dodged a strike to the chest and reached for his blade, only for Sora to kick it further away. Vanitas gave Sora a dirty look.

 _ **"If she hadn't shown up, I'd be wiping the floor with you!"**_ Vanitas hissed. _**"You weilders of light NEVER play fair, gaining more strength by outnumbering me."**_

_**"....And when you think about it...without your friends? YOU would be NOTHING. And you're still nothing now, with that pathetic excuse of a keyblade and that unstable dark power!"**_ Vanitas bared his teeth, pointing at Sora's chest.

Sora closed his eyes with an unreadable expression on his face.

"...You know...I probably wouldn't have really hurt you at first. But now? _It's personal."_

Aqua glanced over at Sora and Vanitas for a second as she fended off the two hooded figures. She seemed deeply concerned.

"...Sora....."

Sora didn't give Vanitas a chance to move as he grabbed him by the face and squeezed. Vanitas clawed at Sora's arms to pull away, but it did nothing to faze him. Sora sent electricity surging through his arm and directly into Vanitas, who cried out for a split second in pain.

_"Doesn't feel good, does it?"_

Vanitas finally managed to free himself. Once again he reached out for his weapon, which was too far away for him to grab.

"Who's the pathetic one now???" A smile started to form on Sora's mouth.

 _ **"Don't patronize me!!!"**_ Vanitas attempted to hit Sora with some magic of his own, but he missed. Sora rammed his fist into Vanitas' gut with enough force for him to hit the wall. It crackled slightly from the impact.

Sora walked towards him, smiling a bit more than before. Vanitas sat up as much as he could and started laughing to himself. A bit of blood came out of his mouth.

_**"...Figures that this would happen. I never win."** _

Sora stood above Vanitas with a vacant look in his eyes. Vanitas looked up and smirked.

_**"...What are you gonna do? Kill me? You know what will happen if you do."** _

_**"...Without me, the person you've been helping all these years will never be whole again. All of your efforts would have been in vain."** _

Sora pressed his keyblade against Vanitas' chest.

 _ **"....You're not all there, are you? I'll bet that Xehanort is still pulling the strings."**_ Vanitas lowered his head, grinning maliciously.

_**"He was always pretty clever. What better way to make sure Ventus never comes back. Right...?"** _

Aqua gasped when she overheard Vanitas. She looked at the two weilders who were running towards her again.

"Bind!" glowing chains came out of her keyblade and wrapped around the two figures. They grunted in frustration as they collasped onto the floor, unable to move. Aqua swiveled her head around just as Sora was about to strike down Vanitas with a finishing blow.

_"STOP!"_

Sora paused. He craned his head around to look at her.

"...Sora. I know that this isn't you." Aqua started to approach slowly. "You're better than this."

"...You've been hurting for a very long time. I can see that now. But this? Getting rid of him to just get even? You know as well as I do that that isn't right. It's the darkness in your heart making you feel that you need to do this."

She got closer. Sora lowered his arms a little.

"It might feel good now to let it all out on him. All of your hatred, your frustration, your desire for revenge against those who have wronged you....but you will regret it. Trust me."

"...I don't even know how long I've been in this place. But it has taught me one thing. If I do give into my dark temptations, I will only fall deeper into my own sorrow. The pain will never go away. And I know...that you don't want that, either. So please, Sora...." Aqua placed her hand on his keyblade.

"...Don't do this. Put your weapon down and let him go."

She felt Sora's hands starting to tremble. Vanitas scoffed.

_**"....COWARDS."** _

Everything went red. Sora pushed Aqua away and swung down, screaming. Vanitas shut his eyes, waiting for the attack to land.

....He felt nothing.

Vanitas opened one eye. Sora's keyblade was driven into the wall, very close to Vanitas' head. Sora breathed heavily as he released his keyblade and fell to his knees. Tears began to stream out of his eyes. Aqua kneeled down and hugged him from behind.

"...It's ok....it's ok, Sora...." Aqua closed her eyes as Sora started sobbing uncontrollably. Vanitas dragged his legs back.

_**"Ugh. Quit it with the waterworks. You didn't kill me."** _

_**"...You win, I guess."** _

Aqua glared icily at him. Vanitas sighed.

_**"...Yeah, yeah. I know when I'm not wanted.** _

Vanitas faded into the shadows. The Unversed he summoned earlier disappeared as well. Aqua continued to hug Sora for a while as he cried. He eventually started to sniff and wiped his eyes.

"...Sora."

His eyes widened at the sound of a familiar voice. Both Sora and Aqua turned their heads to the hooded figures. Their faces were no longer obscured as they pulled their hoods down.

"...Ven...?" Aqua whispered. The boy looked very much like Ventus, but she could tell immediately from his demeanor that he wasn't. The girl beside him looked remarkably like Kairi as well, aside from the black hair. They both stared at Aqua and Sora with solemn expressions.

"...Roxas."

Aqua looked down at Sora. He seemed unhappy.

Roxas rubbed his head. He and the girl looked at each other, then back at Sora.

"...Sorry." Roxas stared at the ground. The girl held his hand tightly.

She seemed distressed. It looked at though she wanted to say something, but she didn't. They suddenly dissipated into light. Sora was quiet as the light went into his body.

Aqua helped him stand up as she contemplated what she had just seen. She decided it was best to not pressure Sora any further.

"...Come on. We should be able to leave now."

\------------

They continued to walk as they found a dark path. It seemed to stretch on forever. Neither of them seemed to care as they continued to follow it, silently hoping to find the end.

"...Maybe...there's an exit down this path."

Sora glanced at Aqua, who was smiling. She looked at him.

"We can always hope for that. Right?"

Aqua saw a genuine smile form on his face.

"...Right!" He grinned and put his arms behind his neck. Aqua laughed a little.

"It's nice to see that you're finally in a good mood. I'm glad."

"Huh? But I'm usually like this!"

"Really? You seemed more like the grumpy type."

Sora pouted. "...You just caught me at a bad time, that's all! I'm not...always grumpy..." He rubbed his arm.

"Well that's good. I was starting to think you were related to one of the Seven Dwarves."

 _"Hey!"_ Sora shoved her playfully as she started to laugh a little more. They laughed for a while until Sora quieted down.

"...And by the way, thanks. I don't think I would've made it out of there without your help."

Aqua shrugged and smiled. "That's what friends do."

"...Yeah." Sora beamed as he looked up at the black sky. He could pinpoint specks of light within the darkness. He tilted his head curiously.

"...Hey, Aqua?"

"Yes?"

Sora pointed up at the specks of light.

"...Are those just an illusion? Or could they be...exits?"

Aqua looked up.

"...Hmm. I never really thought of it that way. Could they really be...?"

Aqua scanned the area and noticed large columns of rocks. Some of them led very closely to the pinpoints of light.

"...Let's find out. Stay close to me, Sora."

Aqua leaped high up in the air, holding onto Sora's hand. Once they reached the top of the first column, they jumped across all the others. Soon enough, they made it to the top. They both took a moment to catch their breath.

"...There it is. But the holes are so small...we would never fit." Aqua reached up to touch one of the lights. She gasped as it turned into dust.

She sighed in disappointment. "...It really was just an illusion. What a cruel joke."

Sora walked past her. She looked over at him quizzically.

"Sora?"

He didn't reply. She watched as he summoned his keyblade, and noticed the blank expression on his face. He seemed to be in some sort of trance.

"Sora? What are you doing???" Aqua grabbed his arm. He didn't react as his raised his keyblade using his other arm, aiming it directly at one of the holes. A beam of light shot out of his keyblade and struck it.

"Ngh!" Aqua covered her eyes as the light nearly blinded her. Once it started to die down, she lowered her arm from her face. Her eyes widened.

"...I don't believe it...Sora....you..."

He suddenly collapsed. Aqua rushed over to him and lifted his head. His eyes opened a little.

"...Aqua...? What's going on...?" Sora asked. He rubbed the side of his head.

"My head hurts...."

Aqua looked at the hole. She reached up and touched it. Her hand went through it.

"...You made us an exit, Sora. Incredible...."

She felt the smallest breeze touch her fingers. Her heart soared with joy.

"AQUA!!!"

She gasped as she felt something hit her and Sora with enough force to send them flying off the column. Aqua instinctively drove her keyblade into the rock and grabbed Sora by his arm. She glanced back and saw a spiral of Shadows barreling towards them. They seemed to be attracted to the light.

"Thunder!" Sora shocked the heartless with his magic. It only managed to knock out a few of them.

"Sora! On the count of three, I'm going to swing you back up!"

"What?! But what about-"

"THREE!" Aqua tossed Sora upwards. He landed roughly on top of the column. He scrambled over to the edge and looked down at Aqua.

"Take my hand!!!" Sora extended his hand to her. Aqua struggled to grab his hand, but she was just out of reach. She looked higher up and realized that the exit was closing.

"...Sora, I know that you're not going to want to hear this, but you have to go without me!"

"No!" Sora cried. "You're my friend! I won't abandon you!"

Aqua looked down to see phantoms of herself clutching her legs. The army of Shadows was getting closer.

_"Join us."_ The phantoms pulled harder at her. She kicked them off, watching as they turned to dust. 

Aqua now had a choice. Letting Sora stay here to fight alongside her, at the expense that he could possibly lose to the darkness in his heart....and risking having the heartless slip out through the exit....

...Or fighting them off alone as Sora escaped, losing another opportunity to see her friends again. And there was no telling if she could ever try leaving this place a third time.

Aqua started to pull out her keyblade. Sora's eyes widened.

"No! Please! I can't leave you behind...I-I'll just stay! It's fine!" Sora teared up.

"...I won't let another friend down. Not again!"

Aqua gave him a pained smile.

"...I know. And you won't."

Aqua freed her keyblade from the rock. She aimed directly at Sora as she started to fall.

"...Wind."

A blast of air sent Sora hurdling up and into the hole. She heard him say her name one last time before the exit closed. She smiled as the heartless surrounded her in midair. Her keyblade started to glow with a powerful light as she started casting a spell. 

"...Good luck, Sora. And may your heart...be your guiding key...."

\---------

Kairi held onto a seashell, staring at it wistfully. She felt a hand touch her shoulder.

"Did you find anything, Riku?" She turned towards her other best friend. He shook his head in disappointment.

"We've looked in every single world we have access to, but he's just not there. No one he knows has seen him. It's like he's just...disappeared completely.

"...No. We haven't looked everywhere. We haven't tried the Realm of Darkness." She winced.

"...Do you think he's in there...?"

"......." Riku lowered his head.

"....I hope not."

"Riku! Kairi!"

"Huh?" Riku and Kairi turned to see Donald running towards them. He stumbled and landed face-first into the sand.

"Aaack!" Donald wailed in a muffled voice. He pulled out his beak and coughed out sand.

"Donald!" Riku approached him and kneeled. "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not! Mickey and Goofy found something! It might be Sora!"

Riku and Kairi glanced at each other, then nodded with determined looks on their faces. They followed Donald to the opposite side of the island and saw Mickey standing at the shoreline. Goofy was swimming out into the deep water, getting close to something that was black. He grabbed it then started swimming back to shore. Once he was close enough, Riku and Kairi could make out that it was a person. Goofy pulled off the hood, and the hair was unmistakable.

"Sora!!!" Riku and Kairi exclaimed in unison. They approached their friend, who seemed to be unconscious. Goofy, Donald and Mickey stood nearby with concerned expressions.

"Oh, Sora...." Kairi touched his soaked hair, which made him stir. He slowly started to open his eyes.

"....Kairi....? Riku....? Is that....really you?" He croaked. His throat was sore, and so was the rest of his body.

Kairi laughed, tears filling her eyes. "...Yes, Sora. It's us." 

"We were worried sick about you. We thought we'd never see you again...!" Riku smiled, a single tear falling down the side of his face.

Sora looked at him with a surprised expression. 

"Hey, Riku...are you...crying? I thought you were supposed to be the tough one."

Riku chuckled. "I still care about you, idiot. But it's good to see that you still have a sense of humor." He rubbed his eyes.

Sora grinned. It gradually faded when something started to cross his mind.

"...Sora, what's wrong?" Kairi gave him a worried look.

"...It's just...I shouldn't be back here."

Riku and Kairi looked at each other.

"Sora, what are you talking about? If this is about...before...we forgive you. We know it wasn't really you." Riku placed a hand on his shoulder.

"...It's not that." Sora gently took off his hand.

"...I was trapped in the Realm of Darkness. But while I was there, I met an old friend. Someone I thought I'd just imagined a long time ago."

"...But she was real. And she's been trapped there for a very long time. I....I couldn't help her. She didn't let me help her..." Sora's voice quivered.

"You saw Aqua...?"

Sora looked over at Mickey, who seemed distressed by the news. Sora nodded silently.

Mickey looked down and closed his hands into fists. Goofy tilted his head.

"...Is that one of your friends you've been lookin' for, Mick?"

Mickey nodded. "...Master Yen Sid and I have already told Riku and Kairi about this as well. The only one we haven't gotten the chance to speak with about her and the others...is you, Sora."

Mickey approached Sora with a serious expression.

"I'll tell you everything about what's goin' on. You deserve to know, now more than ever. But for now, you need rest."

Sora crossed his arms. "...Ok."

He started forcing himself to stand up. Riku helped by holding him up by the shoulder. Mickey smiled sincerely at Sora.

"...I'd also like to know how she's doin', if that's ok with you. Just get some sleep first."

Sora rubbed his head. "...If I could, I'd sleep forever. I'm _really_ tired."

"Didn't you take a nap for ten years?" Riku smirked and nudged him.

"Ha, ha. Very funny."

Kairi giggled. "Riku's got a point, you lazy bum. If we do put you in bed, you might never wake up again!"

Donald snickered. "We oughta set up an alarm clock for him!"

Sora groaned overdramatically, raising his fist.

"You're all against me! This is mutiny!"

"...I don't think you know what that word means." Riku ruffled Sora's hair playfully.

"Knock it off, you dorks." Kairi smiled as she got in between them and patted both of their heads.

"...Let's go home."

The three of them walked together across the shoreline as they headed for the Gummi Ship. Sora looked up at the clear blue sky.

_...I hope you get a chance to see the real sky again...Aqua._

**Author's Note:**

> ...Yeah, not sure why, but I wanted to make this! like it says in the tags, I was inspired by a certain artist on tumblr and just Kingdom Hearts in general.


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